Shoppers yesterday mobbed Marks and Spencer’s first store in mainland China, as M&S brought Shanghai shoppers its distinctive range of mid-market clothing – as well as frozen fish pies and Yorkshire pudding shipped from the UK.

The 40,000 sq ft outlet, arranged over four floors, on Shanghai’s premier shopping street is M&S’s biggest store in Asia, highlighting the keen interest of international retailers to find ways to tap the growing purchasing power of China’s urban consumers.

Mothercare, the UK children’s products retailer, last week formally opened its first two stores in China as part of a joint venture with Chinese distributor Goodbaby.

M&S’s Shanghai shop will provide “pretty much the same offering” as its stores in the UK and at similar pricing, with imported food including standard British dishes complementing midmarket ranges of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, the company said.

Financial Times